Principal who will stay is key t Shaky leadership is no help to struggling school

John Evans Middle School faculty and staff are on the right track. They just need a durable engine to keep going.

This school in Greeley-Evans District 6 has struggled in recent years to keep students focused, behavior controlled and teaching successful.

Last week, John Evans educators wisely met with the school board to consider solutions to some of the more pressing concerns:

n The school has the lowest middle-school reading, writing and math proficiency scores in Weld County.

n John Evans has such a terrible reputation for education and discipline that some parents look for other options of where to send their children.

n It’s been impossible to keep an effective principal for any length of time.

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This third predicament is where we think solutions to the others will be found.

John Evans is ripe with possibilities to reach out to under-achieving students, some of whom are not proficient in English. But it will take dedicated commitment from someone with the integrity to accomplish this daunting mission.

District officials must appoint a passionate and highly qualified educator who has been in the district a long time, is unequivocally committed to the Greeley-Evans community and is determined with a vengeance to meet education expectations.

Then, under a solid and consistent guide, the school’s faculty and parents must honestly eye the fundamental problems at the school.

A critical area for John Evans is the negative impact growth has on learning. A report presented to the school board Monday night, said many District 6 schools with the highest rates of growth also are the schools with the lowest CSAP scores. John Evans was specifically cited for its dismal math performance rate — 13.1 percent.

Other concerns the John Evans faculty addressed last week include the building’s 1960s design, which now poses discipline problems. With curving hallways, it’s difficult for adults to monitor what’s taking place around the bend. This is where parent and other adult volunteers can step in to help. When volunteers aren’t available, faculty and other staff members could monitor the halls in shifts — something like teachers do on elementary school playgrounds.

With a dogged principal willing to go the distance as well as resolute to have the school meet the district’s academic benchmarks, we believe John Evans students won’t be derailed in their education.

The school’s mascot is the Patriot. It invokes the idea of someone who is loyal and zealous for a cause, which is exactly who John Evans needs as its leader.